Why do Athiests require 'proof' that God exists?

[Darwinian]

I do accept that I can never know if God exists or not, just as I employ the same principles with the tooth fairy, Odin, Zeus, Ghosts etc. etc. It's just that I find the complete and utter lack of any evidence, credibility and verisimilitude overwhelming.

Good point. However the tooth fairy is a little woman with wings, not an ineffable, omnipresent being. Therefore we can prove if the tooth fairy (and the other things you mentioned) exists because we can look for little women with wings. We can't look for God.

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence therefore you cannot prove that the tooth fairy does not exist.

[Paul the Human]

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Thanks for your responses everyone, I appreciate the opportunity to discuss this with you.

Firstly I want to clear something up - Descartes "I think therefore I am" doesn't prove 'YOU' exist, it proves 'I' exist. How can 'I' know 'you' think therefore you are!! From my perspective you could be a person in a dream, virtual reality or just an empty headed android.

Why wouldn't I?

If I told you I had a unicorn in my garden I would expect you to ask to see it, or for 'proof'. My point is that the existence of God cannot be proven, due to the nature of what God is, and that when Atheists use the issue of there being no 'proof' for God's existence it is not a valid argument.

I do accept that I can never know if God exists or not, just as I employ the same principles with the tooth fairy, Odin, Zeus, Ghosts etc. etc. It's just that I find the complete and utter lack of any evidence, credibility and verisimilitude overwhelming.

Good point. However the tooth fairy is a little woman with wings, not an ineffable, omnipresent being. Therefore we can prove if the tooth fairy (and the other things you mentioned) exists because we can look for little women with wings. We can't look for God.

Oh, and which God are you talking about? All of them or just the one that your where indoctrinated into believing because of the geographical location of your birth and the views of those around you?

For now let's just say all/any of them

Atheism isn't a philosophy or a method, there's no "atheist logic". What you're describing here is solipsism.

Allow me to rephrase this: using the same atheist argument agaisnt the existence of God I can disprove your existence. Therefore the argument is flawed.

Thanks again for the replies everyone!

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That's what I thought. Yet another believer crying "Why don't you believe me?", but offering no reason to believe them. Oh well. It's not like I expected anything different this time.

[Kayenneh]

Firstly I want to clear something up - Descartes "I think therefore I am" doesn't prove 'YOU' exist, it proves 'I' exist. How can 'I' know 'you' think therefore you are!! From my perspective you could be a person in a dream, virtual reality or just an empty headed android.

Welcome to teh internetz, you can never know here who's real or not

But if that is your stance in the real world, I wonder how you get by and how you don't end up as the most egocentric person in the world.

[JesusLover]

For example one cannot prove ones own existence

"I think therefore I am" - Rene Descartes, 1637

What I meant was you can't prove your existence to others.

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence therefore you cannot prove that the tooth fairy does not exist.

Yes, the tooth fairy could exist somewhere in the universe or in a different dimension. However I'm not trying to disprove the existence of the tooth fairy due to an absence of evidence, I only know I have never seen a little woman with wings.

Atheists are trying to disprove the existence of God due to an absence of evidence, despite the fact that he exists in all things at all times, inside and outside of the universe. He is incomprehensible.

[Paul the Human]

he exists in all things at all times, inside and outside of the universe. He is incomprehensible.

Can you provide evidence to support, or even a reason to believe, that claim?

[Jaysyn]

he exists in all things at all times, inside and outside of the universe. He is incomprehensible.

Can you provide evidence to support, or even a reason to believe, that claim?

I'm going to take a guess & say that no, she can't.

[Tobie]

Why do you think that your god is any different to the tooth fairy?

[Paul the Human]

I'm going to take a guess & say that no, she can't.

I'll bet she can't even provide a coherent reason that she believes that claim to be true.

[JesusLover]

he exists in all things at all times, inside and outside of the universe. He is incomprehensible.

Can you provide evidence to support, or even a reason to believe, that claim?

Your right, I have no evidence. After all belief in God requires 'faith'. However my point is that the absence of evidence does not disprove God's existence, as many atheists seem to think.

Why do you think that your god is any different to the tooth fairy?

Scientists can assess the possibility of a tiny human with wings collecting teeth existing or not. They can use biology and physics to conclude it's not physically possible for a human mind to exist in a grape sized skull. They can see the zero tooth fairy sightings.

God on the other hand is something which cannot be assessed in reality or theory.

[Jackalope]

Atheists are trying to disprove the existence of God due to an absence of evidence,

Stop right there. Most of us do no such thing, rather we disbelieve the claim of existence due to absence of evidence.

despite the fact that he exists in all things at all times

(Emphasis added)

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.